Saturday, January 11, 2014

Well my friend David and I played our first game of Pulp Alley this Friday afternoon. And, as they say, there is "good news" and "bad news".

We certainly enjoyed the game . . . but (bad news) when I tried to take a photo, my digital camera wouldn't work (and changing the batteries didn't help) . . . indeed I think that it needs replacing . . . *sigh*.

The game's only photo was one David took of me using my scratch-built "microphone" to "broadcast" the action.

However you can see what our playing board looked like by checking out this earlier post.

The mic was my attempt at an object to keep track of who had the Initiative (because it can change hands so quickly in Pulp Alley) . . . and it worked splendidly.

It was simple to build. It consists of a candlestick, an old-fasioned clothespin, a bunch of cardboard stuck into and around the clothespin, masking tape and a bit of paint.

Note that I do want to get a different candlestick for it . . . one with straight sides . . . then I'll finish painting the whole thing a charcoal color.

As for the game, it was somewhat hampered by our both rolling only a 12" visibility so there wasn't much shooting.

I "won" with 4 victory points to David's three . . . even though I lost 4 of my 6 characters; while he only lost his one Follower, keeping his other 5 characters alive.

However, in the post-game discussion, David came up with an idea about the microphone. Since we were using it to "broadcast" the action describing what was happening, he suggested that (particularly in multi-player games) the best storyteller get a prize. Perhaps their choice of one of Tips, Contacts, Gear or Backup.

Monday, January 6, 2014

Just in case I might need a fourth League for a Pulp Alley training game, I've added another cleverly-named League, the Grey Hats . . . to go along with the equally cleverly named Black Hats, White Hats and Brown Hats featured previously.

The Grey Hat Gang is lead by Ira and his sidekick, Gus.

Ira's abilities are Hardboiled, Intimidating and Fierce; while Gus is known to be both a Daredevil and Specialist.

As usual, the three allies (Vince, Quinn and Owen) have a range of abilities (one each of Sharp, Fierce and Marksman); while Xavier, a follower, is also a Marksman.

So now I have four "training game" leagues all set to venture into Grizzlyville in our first attempt at playing Pulp Alley . . . and yes, I do know that none of these leagues is really very well designed . . . indeed they are designed more to introduce us to a variety of different character Abilities and the game system.

Friday, January 3, 2014

I say "first attempt" because I'm going to be floating this terrain by some more experienced players to find out if it is too crowded or not.

Of course I don't know where people are going to place the four minor plot points; but the Main Plot Point is, of course, the lady about to be hanged in the middle Grizzlyville:

The main plot point . . . the lady in red awaiting the noose

As you can see the middle of the board is pretty open . . . but much of the rest of it is relatively cluttered. All hills (including Gallows Hill) are perilous areas; so are the enclosed corrals; and not only are the wooded areas perilous, but so is the land within an inch of them.

I'm using a 4' x 4' playing surface and players will be allowed to deploy their troops anywhere within 12' of the corner they choose . . . which will force them to choose from a number of different paths for relative safety . . . or to chance a more direct route by choosing to pass through perilous ground.

The following images will work your way around the table (starting from the SE side looking North -- all the way around to the SE side looking West). As usual clicking on a photo will give a larger image . . . but opening them in a separate window will allow for a much larger image.

South East quadrant looking North

South West quadrant looking North

South West quadrant looking East

North West quadrant looking East

North West quadrant looking South

North East quadrant looking South

North East quadrant looking West

South East quadrant looking West

Again, I don't know where the minor plot points will be placed but I've tried to allow a number of channels from each corner that will bring the Leagues into contact with each other.

Anyway, I await the counsel of the more experienced . . . and we will see how Grizzlyville might evolve.